Question:
My husband needs some
exercises to help ease his lower back pain from golfing.
Any suggestions?
Answer:
In my opinion
both stretching and strengthening are in order. No need
to hang him upside from the porch just yet. I have a good
strengthening exercise that you can do without any equipment
if you are willing to help him out as resistance.
Here is how
to do it:
Each sit on a
chair facing in towards each other. Your kitchen chairs
should work quite well for that. Have him hold his arms
straight out towards you with elbows locked and clasp his
hands together. It looks like the arm position for a bump
in volleyball only the elbows are straight.
Your job is to
push his arms to the side (alternating sides) while he resists.
He should resist until he is facing almost directly to the
side and feeling the stretch in his side abs and lower back.
At that point
hold that position while he continues to resist then remove
your hands in an instant and let him snap back to the center.
This mimics the explosive movement of the golf swing. Repeat
the same thing to the other side to balance the muscle groups.
Part of the problem
with golfing is that you only swing from one side. This
leads to a muscle imbalance which can lead to the pain you
are talking about. By working both sides, you can correct
that imbalance and reduce the pain.
Do between 5
to 7 reps on each side (alternating sides as you go) for
3 sets. Take about a minute rest between each set. This
can be done 3 to 4 times a week, e.g. Mon, Wed, Fri and
Sat or Sunday.
Try to increase
resistance as he gets stronger with the movement.
Another very
similar variation you can try is to make it a competition.
Start in the exact same position. He will do everything
he can to keep his arms pointing straight forward at you
while you try your hardest to push his arms to the sides
like above. Don't worry about resistance or getting the
stretch or anything like that. The elastic force he will
get from trying to keep his arms forward will work great.
Use fast, sudden movements from either side without warning.
Naturally, don't
start with this one. Let him develop some core strength
for a few weeks before trying it.
Back
to Beginner Q&A
|
